Trials
by CrackedCrow
Summary: Danny died during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Since then, he has been Clockwork's assistant. Sam is a misguided and lonely teen, who wishes that she could just be accepted. Then the two of them meet... A late contribution to the 10th Dannyversary.
1. Prologue

**HEY EVERYONE! I'M ALIVE! *dodges tomatoes* I know, I know, I haven't updated any of my stories for _months_. But... life got in the way. My graes crashed and burned, and I've been working hard to bring them back up, and a girl that I know died in a car crash, along with her younger brother. I also recently got my Learner's Permit, and my parents (mainly my dad, because my mom's been sick) have been teaching me to drive. With all this stuff going on around me, I kinda went into another brief depressed funk. BUT! Reading the reviews you guys have left on my other stories helped me out a lot, along with my new friends.**

**I want to say tank you right now, to all of you who read my stories. Even if you don't review, just seeing how many views my stories have gotten have really made me feel better. I really appreciate all of you. ^^**

**This is a (late) contribution to the 10th Dannyversary. I wish I could have put it up on time, but... y'know. Anyway, this will be amulti-chapter story, and hopefully better thought out than my other stories. Sam is 16 in this story, as well as Tucker and Jazz. Danny, well... you'll find out ^^.**

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**### Salem, Massachusetts- 1692, May###**

Daniel Jackson Fenton, that was the boy's name. The tall, thin boy, the one with spindly limbs and a childish face. The one with hair as black as midnight and eyes like the sea.

Daniel- or Danny as he was known to family and friends- was mourning. Never had he been this upset, not even when his sister- his childhood friend- was forced to stay behind in England to be married off. They had only moved to this town a few years ago, so it wasn't that much of a surprise when his parents, Margaret and Jackson Fenton, were accused and convicted. Convicted of witchcraft.

His friends Tafari Foley and Lilith Manson stood behind him at the entrance the makeshift cemetery, looking on with sad eyes. The gravestone read the date, that bloody, God-awful date: May 12th, 1692.

None of them noticed a man peering through the gate with barely repressed glee.

**### Salem, Massachusetts - 1692, December###**

Danny dragged a protesting Lilith onto the frozen lake. "C'mon Lily! It's not that bad."

"Danny, no! Look at the ice! It's extremely thin, it only just froze over yesterday!"

The 16-year-olds continued to argue, but were pushed onto the ice while they were distracted. They toppled over, before turning to find Tafari laughing at them.

Danny grinned, his eyes darting around nervously. He really shouldn't be seen with them, his fiance and her family slave, but they had been his only friends to stand by him after his parents' death.

Danny suddenly noticed that Lilith was on top of him. He blushed a bright red, lightly pushing her off. She blushed as well when she noticed their position, and quickly jumped to her feet.

Tafari laughed again. "I don't understand why you two get so flustered. You're in an arranged marriage anyway."

Lilith scowled. "Tafari, I swear, you had better watch what you say," she growled. Tafari gulped, nodding his head.

Afterwards, the three teens continued to play in the ice and snow, never noticing the man watching them.

**### Salem, Massachusetts - 1693, January###**

"I'm not a witch!" Danny screamed. He felt the stick prod him forward, towards the noose. He tried to grab the stick, but his hands were tied behind his back. He was pushed closer to the tree where the rope hung. A small wooden ladder was placed beneath the noose, obviously meant to be pulled away once the rope was tight around his neck.

"That's even more proof that you are!" Governor Vlad Masters stepped through the crowd to stand before the teen. Danny growled at him, and the villagers shrunk back. Vlad glared sharply back, before motioning to the villager that was escorting Danny. "Set him up."

The man did as he said. As Danny's head was rested inside of the noose, Vlad smirked and said, "Any last words?"

Danny growled softly. "Actually, yes," he hissed before raising his voice. "Good people of Salem, I am not the witch. Your governor is! I have seen it! He convicted my parents, and now myself, because we found out about him!"

As Danny's speech went on, more and more people were glancing at Vlad with fearful eyes. He started to panic and motioned for the wooden ladder to be removed, but the men ignored him, instead listening intently and fearfully to Danny.

Vlad fumed. He stalked towards Danny, but suddenly tripped on something and fell flat. Danny stared at him with a raised eyebrow, unimpressed. He would have facepalmed if he could.

Vlad stood up grumbling, and the villagers backed away in terror. Only then did Vlad realize that he had briefly turned intangible while falling to avoid injury. His eyes darted to Danny in horror before he growled, lashing a hand outwards towards the teen. A red glow surrounded the ladder, and it started to shake, to move. Danny started gagging as the noose tightened around his neck. Many villagers jumped forward to catch him, but they were too late.

The villagers cries were accompanied by a loud snap that echoed throughout the village as the ladder collapsed.

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**So... whaddaya think? I'm about halfway through writing the first chapter, so I hope to have it up soon, but I'm not sure exactly when. I may have gotten some historical facts wrong (History was never my favorite subject- couldn't remember all the dates) but I did do some research while writing this. Correct me on anything that I got wrong. Also, I am currently searching for a Beta for this story. Anyone interested? PM me if you are.**

**Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you all have a great day (or night, depending on where you live). ^^**


	2. Chapter 1

**Sorry it took so long!** **I've had stuff I had to take care of for school and such, and prepare songs for my friends' A Capella Group auditions. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next chapter! It gives some insight into Sam's life! After this, the chapters will mostly be a mixture of Sam's and Danny's POV's.  
Also, I'd like to thank ReenaKanda for Betaing this story!**

**And now, I present... Chapter 1!**

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**Ghost Zone - Modern Day**

Two figures stood in front of a round screen, studying the events that it showed. The smaller figure - clad in black and white - looked up to the other, who wore shades of purple.  
With a slight British accent, the smaller one asked, "Are those the ones?"  
The purple-clad figure nodded. "Yes. That is them."

**Casper High, Amity Park, Illinois - Modern Day**

Sam sighed and slammed her locker shut. Now that the school day was over, she'd have to deal with her overly preppy parents. It had been even worse after her grandmother had passed. If she went home, she'd most likely end up getting grounded for some sarcastic response.  
Luckily, Tucker and Jazz, her best friends since as long as she could remember, saved her sorry ass once again.  
They ran up to her, laughing and flirting, stopping in front of her with large grins on their faces. The two had been dating for a year now, after Jazz finally - and shyly - admitted her feelings for Tucker.  
Sam smiled weakly at the couple, before it faded into an unhappy scowl. Her two friends stared at her sympathetically.  
"Bad day?" Tucker asked; he winced at the glare she sent him in response.  
"Ya think?" There goes that sarcasm again. God, she needed to fix that.  
Jazz stopped her from mentally scarring the African-American teen any more than she already had in all the years she had known him. "Well, we were going to the Nasty Burger, and then possibly the mall afterwards, if you wanted to come."  
Sam grinned, though it didn't reach her eyes. "Sure, that sounds great. Thanks."

At the Nasty Burger, things seemed to go downhill. As soon as Sam sat down, the royal snobs of Casper High walked in, hanging onto their boyfriends. Paulina Sanchez and Star Strong momentarily paused when they saw the "loser trio", but quickly recovered, sneering as they stalked closer.  
Sam gritted her teeth and her fists balled up beneath the table. Jazz and Tucker seemed to notice and, with nervous glances, they each grabbed one of her hands. Sam felt some of the pressure lift away, but it instantly returned with the Latina's next words.  
"Trying to keep the 'guard dog' under control, freaks? More like a chihuahua." The Queen B and her second-in-command snickered at the stupid jeer.  
"Oh, then you must be the fire hydrant, huh?"  
Silence fell throughout the whole restaurant. Even the person sitting at the drive-thru made no sound. Dash and Kwan stared on in bewilderment, while Paulina looked murderous. Star had quieted down, and she looked like she wanted to flee.  
"_What_ did you just say?" came Paulina's oh-so-intelligent response.  
"You heard me, you shallow witch." Jazz and Tucker winced and scooted away from Sam, hoping not to get caught in the crossfire.  
An undignified squeak came from the popular girl's mouth. "I am not _shallow_!"  
Sam smirked. "If ya mean I could stand in a puddle of you and not get my feet wet, then yeah, you are."  
Steam was pouring out of Paulina's ears as she gritted her teeth in an attempt to find a comeback, but Sam beat her to it.  
"Oh! And you didn't object to being called a witch. Anything you're trying to tell us, Queen B?"  
Paulina snapped, but unfortunately her small brain capacity couldn't keep up with her emotions. "_You're_ the witch! All you wear is black, and I bet, without a doubt, that you have spell books and potions all over your house, you little freak!"  
Sam blinked. "Was that you trying to insult me? Because you didn't do a very good job. You should know that I honestly don't care whatsoever what you or any of your cronies think of me."  
Paulina muffled a scream, her fists clenching. She suddenly reached up and slapped the goth across the cheek. Sam gaped for a moment, shocked, before her eyes seemed to light with a fire. Paulina winced and took a step back, completely losing her resolve. It was quite clear that Sam was _pissed._  
Sam growled deeply in her throat, a low sound that made many people feel as if they were in a horror movie.  
And then all hell broke loose.

Sam was currently riding home in a police car. Paulina hadn't been hurt enough to be sent to the hospital, but her oh-so-perfect complexion was ruined. Sam had quite a few scratches and bruises herself, but not nearly as many as the A-lister had.  
Sam fidgeted with her handcuffed hands. Her parents were going to have to pay her bail again, or she'd be under house arrest and have to do community service. She did community service anyway, but her parents didn't want her to, so there's an even bigger chance of her getting out of this. But she'll still be sued by Paulina's family.  
Sighing, Sam realized that they were pulling up to her house. The officers gawked at the mansion. She rolled her eyes; it seemed that everyone reacted like that when they first saw where she lived. She knocked on the window to get their attention, and they opened the car door, still staring at the house in awe.  
She kicked the front door open and walked inside, startling her parents. Her mother was the first to recover. "Oh my goodness, Sammykins, why are you in handcuffs?!"  
The police, having gotten control of themselves, walked in behind the teen. "She's in handcuffs because she attacked a student at the Nasty Burger."  
Sam's parents stared at her in shock at the startling claim, "Samantha!"  
Sam rolled her eyes and shoved her hands towards the officers, indicating to remove the handcuffs. Shaking his head, the younger officer did so, while the older turned to explain to her parents what had happened.  
Sam turned and walked towards her room with her head held high. As she reached the stairs, she heard her parents shouts of outrage at the idea of their daughter being under house arrest. She sighed. Even her own parents didn't want her around. They worked from home; whenever they worked at all. If she was under house arrest, they would have to interact with each other at some point, and that would only lead to disaster.  
Sam slipped into her purple fleece pajama pants and black tank top, and curled up on her bed with her thick purple comforter wrapped tightly around her shoulders. Heaving a sigh, she rolled onto her stomach and grabbed her laptop, pulling up Netflix. She clicked on an episode of _Warehouse 13_ and closed her eyes, relaxing into the sheets.  
She was asleep by the time the episode started.

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**Yeah, it's a little short... blame Pottermore. I've recently joined (I'm a Slytherin! ^^), and it's taken up a lot of my time! I like to once again thank ReenaKanda. I'll try to get the next chapter up soon, I'm going on a family trip in July.**

**Well, I hope you enjoy this! ^^ Let me know about anything I should change or add. In the meantime, I hope you all have a great day or night! **


	3. Chapter 2

**Edit: I've had to reupload this chapter three times... I'll probably end up doing it again.**

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**Please don't hate me... I've actually had this written for a couple months, I just didn't upload it. I'm a junior in high school, life in general is kicking my ass. Also, um... a not-so-shameless (because I seriously feel guilty) self promotion. If you haven't already, you should check out my other DP AU, Mirrors. The first chapter is already up.**

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**Amity Park, Illinois - Modern Day  
**  
Sam's parents were already gone by the time she woke up. Her father had gone golfing with a business partner while her mother went to the country club with a bunch of her rich friends.  
Sam scoffed at the note they had left her. _We'll talk when we get home._ Yeah, right. They'd all avoid each other like usual.  
Sam got ready for the day and drove herself to school in her small hybrid. The parking lot was mostly empty, and she didn't see Paulina's cherry red Ferrari, so Sam felt as if she might get through the morning without an encounter with the Queen B.  
As Sam entered the school through the wide double doors, that hope was crushed. Paulina was standing in the main hallway, hanging onto Dash provocatively while the rest of the A-list surrounded her. Her many scratches and bruises were covered up with multiple layers of concealer, but her split lip was still visible. Sam grinned despite herself. Doing as much damage as she did was definitely worth getting in trouble with the police.  
Sam stalked past the group of populars towards her locker, her head held high. As she entered her combination, the front doors opening caught her attention.  
A tall boy walked into the main hall, looking around in slight nervousness. He wore a red T-shirt under a white sleeveless hoodie, and faded blue jeans with red and white Converse hightops. A silver hollow gear-shaped pendant with a glass hourglass inside hung on a chain around his neck. His hair was black and unruly, the bangs covering the top of his left eye, while shining with a blue sheen. But what caught Sam's attention were his glittering, ice blue eyes.  
Sam raised an eyebrow and turned back to her locker, trying to ignore the strange fluttering in her heart. She heard his footsteps come closer, and she prayed to every higher power she could think of that he wasn't coming to talk to her.  
At the sound of someone clearing their throat, she looked towards where his feet would be. _Dammit_, she thought, recognizing the sneakers as the ones that the boy wore. She raised her head to look him in the eyes, and felt herself stop breathing for a heartbeat. His eyes were even more captivating up close.  
Sam blinked and composed herself, shaking her head slightly. "Can I help you?"  
The boy grinned, showing off glowing white teeth. "Hello," he said with an accent she couldn't quite place. "I'm Danny, I'm new here. Do you think you could point me towards the office?"  
Sam struggled to speak. "Y-yeah. It's just around that corner." she said, pointing.  
Danny beamed. "Thank you so very much." He bowed his head slightly and walked in the direction Sam had indicated.  
Sam stared after him for a moment, trying to calm her speeding heart. She snapped out of her trance at the sound of pounding feet, running towards her location. She turned to find Jazz and Tucker dashing to her side, skidding to a stop.  
"Hey Sam." Tucker grinned.  
Jazz looked at where Danny had disappeared around the corner. "Who was that?"  
Sam turned to look as well. "...I'm not sure."  
Tucker and Jazz shared a knowing look at seeing the faraway expression in their friend's eyes.

* * *

Danny grinned as he slipped around the corner towards the office. He had already known where it was, but it gave him an excuse to talk to the girl, Sam.  
She played an important part in his task. In fact, the entire mission revolved around her. And to succeed, he needed her to trust him.  
His mission was simple: protect her until the time was right. He knew exactly when and how the event would occur, he had seen it on Clockwork's Viewing Screen. Danny just needed to guide her.  
And that was something he could do.  
Danny was shaken from his thoughts when a tall, muscular blonde- Danny believed his name was Dashiel, or Dash, Baxter- shoved him towards the lockers. Danny grunted in surprise- he was too lost in thought to notice the jock approaching.  
Dash grinned cheekily. He was upset that Paulina had dumped him because he didn't fight off the Goth freak. He needed to take his anger out on something- or someone. "Well, whatta we 'ave here? New kid, huh? Well, we better give ya the initiation!"  
Danny cockily raised an eyebrow at the bad grammar. "Initiation, eh? And just what might that be?"  
Dash faltered, startled at the boy's lack of fear. His eyes skimmed over the boy's frame, barely noticing the hint of muscle along his arms. Dash furrowed his brow. "D'you play?"  
Danny blinked. "Pardon?"  
"Football."  
"No." Danny smirked, his eyes quickly turning cold. "But I am a black belt in multiple forms of martial arts and will beat your sorry ass if I ever witness you trying to harm someone again."  
Dash sputtered. "Wha-? But how...? What do you-? Huh?"  
"How do I know that you're the school bully?" Danny asked with a stoic expression. "I know a lot of things that I probably should not, Dashiel Baxter. You try to feel superior around your peers, because you are inferior at home. You have a sibling who is more accomplished in more areas than just sports, and you don't get paid a lot of attention from your family. So you bully your peers in an attempt to get attention, and make yourself appear more confident, when in fact, you are constantly afraid that someone will find out about your home life and you will lose your reputation."  
Dash blinked, fear clouding his eyes. How did this new student, who had never been seen in Amity Park before, know everything about him? Nobody from his school even knew about his brother, who had been excepted into Harvard only a few years ago, before they moved to Illinois.  
Danny's eyes met Dash's, and the jock felt terror creep into him, manifesting from the threat hidden deep in those icy blue eyes. "Now," he began, "I would highly appreciate it if you stayed out of my way."  
Dash gave a curt nod, eyes wide, and backed away, giving the raven-haired teen room to walk away. Danny met his gaze before he silently stalked away.  
Wide-eyed and pale-faced, Dash shuddered.

* * *

Sam quickly walked into her first period class and sat down in the closest empty desk, still pondering why her emotions had been so out of control before. She didn't want to admit that she might have a crush on the new kid because she had only just met him. She didn't want a repeat of what happened with Gregor/Elliot.  
Her heart wouldn't be able to stand it.  
Sam ducked her head down as more students walked into the room, Paulina and Dash included. Unfortunately, Jazz and Tucker had different first classes, so Sam was alone to deal with their bullshit. She tried to calm down and clear her thoughts by doodling in an empty notebook.  
This worked for a moment until she realized that her drawing was taking shape of the boy's strange necklace. Growling, she tore the paper out of the notebook and crumpled it, stuffing it inside her backpack.  
She looked around the room to find something to do, when she noticed the angry look on Paulina's face, and the terrified one on Dash's. Now, an angry Paulina can scare pretty much anyone, but not to the level of fear that Dash was showing. He was _radiating_ terror. Sam quietly wondered what could've frightened him so badly, when the new kid -Danny, was it?- walked into the room and searched for an empty seat... and the only one was right next to Sam.  
Sam mentally cursed as Danny set his stuff on the desk to her left and sat down, right as the bell rang.

* * *

Danny sighed when he found his path blocked once again. This time, however, it was a Latina heavily doused in makeup who stopped him.  
"Hello, I don't believe we've met. I'm Paulina Sanchez. And you are?" She asked in a sugarcoated tone.  
"Not interested." Danny deadpanned.  
Paulina took a step back as if struck, her eyes widening momentarily before she regained control. "No, really. I would be honored to help you find your way around the campus. We might even have some classes together."  
"I appreciate the offer, but I can find my own way around. And if I cannot, I will simply ask for directions. And yes, we may have certain classes together, but I fail to understand how that has any relation to you helping me." Danny's voice was filled with icy annoyance, matching his eyes.  
"Well, we could sit together."  
"I shall sit wherever I am assigned to." Danny said simply, and then turned and walked away. He briefly glanced back, smirking when he saw Paulina silently fuming. He didn't like to be rude, but he needed to keep her and the other "A-listers" far away if he wanted to get close to Sam.  
With this in mind, Danny wandered around campus for a while before rushing to his first class, barely arriving in time.


End file.
